Boot or shoe sole protector



(No Model.)

L. P. LANG.

BOOT OR SHOE SOLE PROTECTOR.

No. 408,681. Patented May 21 1889.

855W BV MMM,

Afro/mm,

N4 PETERS. Fhmo-Lilhngmpher. Washington. D. C.

UNiTEn STATES PATENT OFFICE.

LOUIS P. LAN OF ALLEGHENY, PENNSYLVANIA.

BOOT OR SHOE SOLE PROTECTOR.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 403,681, dated May 21, 1889.

Application filed February 2l, 1889l Serial No. 300,658. (No model.)

To @ZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, LOUIS P. LANG, of the city and county of Allegheny, and State of Pennsylvania, have invented a new and Improved Boot or Shoe Protector, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

This invention consists in a novel device for protecting' the bottoms of boots or shoes from being soiled when fitting or trying on said articles, substantially as hereinafter described, and pointed out in the claims.

Reference is to behad to the accompanying drawings, forming apart of this specification,

i5 in which similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in both the figures.

Figure l represents a side elevation of a gaiter boot or shoe with my invention applied, and Fig. 2 an inverted plan of the same.

The device is composed of a longitudinally expansible and contractible bottom cover for the boot or shoe, provided with means at its front and back ends for holding it on the toe and heel of the boot or shoe, so that when fit- 5 ting or trying on a boot or shoe in a store or elsewhere said cover will form the bearing surface on the ioor, and thereby will protect the bottom of the boot or shoe from being soiled. By the eXpansibility of the device it is adapted to Iit boots or shoes of different sizes or lengths, and it is constructed so that it can be readily applied to or removed from the boot or shoe, and by its peculiar attachment to the toe part in no wise interferes with the appearance of the boot or shoe when being tried on. A is the longitudinally expansible and contractible bottom cover made wholly or in part of rubber webbing` or other suitable elastic materialmpreferably in two thicknesses, as showin-and of a length to take in the whole or greater portion of the tread part of a boot or shoe. Between these two thicknesses of elastic material A is a metal plate, Z), united intermediately of its length, as at c c, to said material and of a length to reach to or beyond the shank of the shoe B,but not extending to the front end of the cover. Secured to the front end of this soft and elastic cover A- as, for instance, by a bar, d-is a light wire loop, C, which, when the device is applied to the boot or shoe, is entered in between the upper leather and welt or sole of the shoe at its toe end to hold the device onto the shoe at said part. The wire loop C thus applied and as shown in the drawings will be concealed from the eye of the person trying on the shoe, and so not detract from the appearance of the shoe. Secured to the rear end portion of t-he cover A, and which may form an integral portion of the plate b, are opposite side uprights, e e., stretched around which and across the cover A is a rubber band, f, that by its flexibility constitutes a yielding cross-support adapted to hold the device onto the heel of the shoe at its back, as shown. Said iiexible heel support or attachment may be otherwise con structed-as, for instance, by a single ilexible diaphragm instead of the two diaphragms asformed by the rubber band; but the latter is a simple means to effect the desired end.

By making the plate b of a length to reach to or beyond the shank of the shoe the back of the protecting device will be braced up and kept from slipping ott the heel of the shoe. Furthermore, the cover A, being of soft material, will have an easy bearing on the floor when the foot on which the shoe is being tried is pressed thereon, and it will not mar the bottom of the shoe.

The whole device or protector is readily applied by simply pulling upon it endwise and applying the wire loop and heel-holding appendage, as described, and it is as readily disconnected when required.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

l. A device for protecting the bottoms of boots or shoes from being soiled when said articles are being fitted or tried on the person, the same consisting of a longitudinally-elastic bottom cover, a wire connection at the forward end of said cover, adapted to engage with the toe part of the boot or shoe between its upper leather and welt or sole, and a raised hcel-gripping attachment at the back end of said cover, substantially as shown and dcscribed.

2. In a device for protecting the bottoms of boot-s or shoes from being soiled when said articles are bein g fitted or tried on the person, the combination, with the longitudinally-cias tic bottom cover, A, having attached means IOC in front for securing it to the toe part of the i band o1` strap f, connecting said upriglits, and Io boot or shoe, of a flexible raised heel-gripping the Wire loop C at the forward end of the botattachrnent at the back end of said bottom tom cover, substantially as'sliownand decover, and a base-plate supporting the same, scribed. essentially as described.

3. The combination of the longitudinally- LOUIS P' LANG' elastic bottom cover, A, constructed to form Vitnesses a double Web, the attached interposed plate b, PH. LANG, having,` rear end side uprights, e e, Jthe elastic C; J VESTERSHAUSEN. 

